physical limitations in your game?

[Chas]

Peripheral neuropathy in the feet, resulting from intensive chemotherapy for Hodgkins lymphoma almost 10 years ago.  Not a big problem really as long as I'm careful and don't stand or walk too long without sitting down for a minute or two to relieve the pain - the feet recover quicly as long as I don't overdo it.  I can still walk a round if I feel like it, using an electric push style cart that has a little drop-down seat - great feature.  I also have neuropathy very mildly in the hands, which doesn't seem to affect anything that I do (just a bit of tingling sometimes).  I had to give up life-long tennis and take up golf after the chemo - not a bad trade-off really, and I'll take that over the alternative .....

[user9800]

Torn meniscus and torn ACL's in both knees.  Two surgeries on the left knee and one on the right. Makes for some sore knees after allot of walking.

[Valleygolfer]

I have a jacked lower back that only really bothers me when I carry a bag or do not take care of it and what started off as turf toe turned hallux valgus. The hallux valgus is irritating and pretty ended baseball and softball that I had recently started playing. It hurts to push off on and although it doesn't directly affect my swing it gets pretty uncomfortable at times during the round. I will probably get surgery some winter on it.

[Aquaguru]

Originally Posted by allin

I had a closed head injury at age 24, two months over 30 years ago, from being hit in the head with a batted baseball. Basically a mild to moderate stroke.  I did many fine motor things, like eat and write left handed.  I also had surgery for crossed eyes, (lazy eye) as a teenager.  My brain now supresses, (ignores) the left eye except at very short range.  I had to learn to write right handed etc.  My strength, feel and coordination in my left side is somewhat impaired.  Only people who knew me before the accident ever notice.  Pre accident friends  comment that I moved gracefully when young, but not now.  I always thought I was a doofus!  The one thing I would tell someone is don't buy in to self imporant but usually well meaning types who tell you to accept your new reality / limitations.  When I first regained conciousness I could not speak, could not even walk unassisted for close to 3 months.  Medical personnel repeat like it was a mantra you won't know where you are at for one year, after that you won't see any improvement.  Certainly the activites I pursue changed, comparing yourelf to your pre injury abilities while playing baseball, basketball, dancing etc is very frustrating.  That is one of the reasons I started playing golf.  I am sure I would have played at a higher level if never injured, but the satisfaction of finding ways to make good shots is probably even more satisfying for me than others.  Except for a lack of length I am average or better in many gofl skills, especially putting.  I was lucky to even get the ball airborne my first 30 rounds or so.  I was forced from the beginning to focus on strategy and putting.  And over the years I have continued to progress in many areas, slowly and steadily.  I would say the only thing that bugs me is what people call muscle memory is poor.  If I don't practice or play for an extended period it takes me a very long time to get my game back, and changes take a long time to make.

This is inspiring to me, because a very close friend of mine just recently had 4 mine strokes from an ATV accident 5 months ago.  Its good to hear that you had some similar injuries and have gotten back to being able to be independent and golf.  She has hemiparalysis in her left side but movement in her hand foot is slowly coming back.  Its good to see that golf has helped you maybe I can get her to play.

[Camo]

As a former race car driver I broke my neck twice. Several surgeries over 20 years has left me with 2 disc in my neck fused and a 6 inch titanium plate with 6 screws keeping my cervical spine together. I have lost about 50% of the range of motion in my neck, can't look up or down and instead of being able to turn my head to look at my shoulder 90* I can turn to about 45* degrees. This has limited my back swing because I can't keep my head looking down at the ball when my shoulders rotate. Aside from the the residual pain in my neck the real challenge is the nerve damage has my left my right hand and partial arm with very little feeling. ( feels like when your arm falls asleep and is numb ). So with no feeling in mynright hand and arm I have to look at it to make sure it is doing the correct thing. Needless to say keeping a consistent swing is difficult and my distance is shorter then it could be if I could get a full swing looking at the ball. But I have learned to play with it to a descent level of a 9.6 HCI ....shooting an 80 feels like a victory to me The biggest bummer is that I can't carry my own bag and have to ride a cart. Even so a round of golf leaves me on the heating pad for the rest of the day.

[luggage]

Is there a average golfer's (whatever that is) perspective on guys with Peripheral Neuropathy walking the golf course rather than riding in carts.  Obviously it up to the individual not to do something that would aggravate an existing medical issue but there are degrees of the condition.  I am told that I have it but I still try to walk at least 9 holes.  At 72 it's good to experience the best way to play golf.  I may have sore feet at the end but that is far from blisters and wounds on the feet.

[DrvFrShow]

I had acute kidney failure a couple years ago caused by a medication I was taking. The lingering result is this peripheral neuropathy in my right foot around the pad near the ball of my foot. In my case the pain is aggravated by wearing spiked shoes. The spikes put pressure on the wrong parts of the foot and cause intense pain. I have custom orthotics, but still the location of the spikes on the shoe seem to bee the problem. I seem to be able to navigate the course on foot with spikeless shoes. I'll try walking with spikeless again next round. If that doesn't work I'll have to rent carts.

The solution to the problem is to lose about 20 - 30 lbs. in my case. Less weight on the feet might really help.

[mcanadiens]

Really nothing worth bragging about, but I've been generally clumsy from birth. If it goes much beyond walking in a straight line, I start having trouble.

Nothing hurts and that's what's important.

 

[RH31]

I broke my left ankle when I was 20. The doctor said at the time that it would give me fits the rest of my life and he was right. Had my third surgery 2 years ago. Some days it's hard to get my weight back to my left side on the follow through so I tend to hang back. I wear a brace when I play, that helps some. I may have never even taken up golf had I not broken my ankle. I'd probably be playing in some over fifty softball or basketball league if I could still run.

 

[paininthenuts]

On 1/8/2009 at 5:13 PM, flopdarock said:

does anyone have any physical limitations they have to over come in order to play golf?

i recently played with a guy that lost his leg while serving in the military in iraq... he had a prosthetic and it didnt seem to hinder his game any from what i can tell... i didnt even know until he told me(he had pants covering the prosthetic)... tho i have no clue how he played before he lost his leg...

so this got me to thinking about what others overcome just to play our fav past time...

i know im severely nearsighted but wear contacts to correct it... i also have very bad knees from 2 decades of surfing and a bad back from a sportbiking accident... my pro knows these things and adjusts my lessons accordingly... i think this is the only thing thats keeping me from a better long game and a lower handicap

I have a mate with a finger missing on his right hand. I wish I could tell you that he has overcome it, but he's really crap. My only disability is that I am a bit mental 

[Patch]

A side from the natural limitations associated with getting older, most of my left side joints are held together with various pieces if metal. Pins, screws, a plate, and a rod keeps me mobile. All of this forces me to use a very controlled swing. I have easily lost 30-40 yards with my full swing. 

Bottom line is I am just happy still be above ground, and able to play a decent game of golf. 

[70sSanO]

Although I have a few titanium plates and screws here and there, the only limitation that has caused me to change my game and equipment are partially torn rotator cuff tendons from clipping a tree on my bike.  It is not really a big deal, I can't take a full swing and need softer flex shafts, but I use nuclear powered heads to make up the difference.

John

[rehmwa]

Well, I'm not too bright, I get lost on the course, my clubs are too short for someone taller than me.  I have a rather short attention span. sometimes I

[Jeremie Boop]

I wouldn't really call mine too limiting yet, but as I get older they will probably cause more issues. I broke my back in a car accident when I was 18 so I have rods and pins in my lower back which restrict my torso turn a bit and I have "drop foot" in my right leg which requires an articulated foot orthodic. Perhaps these actually have a negative impact on my game, but since I've always had these since I've golfed I can't really be sure.

[Avalanche]

Bad back and poor flexibility.  But really, my bad back doesn't hurt my game as much as poor hand to eye coordination and my inability to read greens.  lol  

[Rip62]

I have a neuromuscular disorder that causes my muscles to fatigue quickly. It also affects my breathing so no walking for me and 18 can really wear me out. 

[inthehole]

overweight, bad lower back (high speed bass boat accident 20 years ago), arthritic neck, bad eyes & lack of flexibility.    Taking these things into consideration, I've developed a very smooth tempo swing - designed to be as easy on my body as possible.   I've come to the realization and accepted the fact that I'll always be a "play from the white's" kinda guy - will never have the length to play from the rear tee's & I'm ok with that.    I started the game late in life, but at least I started well before I retired, so I'm ok with my game ... and the inherent limitations of the way I chose to play it.    But by far the most troubling limitation I suffer from is an acute inability to read greens - an affliction for which I'm unaware of a cure of ...

[jkelley9]

Nothing near as bad as the guy who lost his leg but:

- some type of metal in 5 of my 6 leg joints (foot, knee, hip)

- a screw in my left hip, a screw in my right femur

- missing my fibula in my left leg (removed @ time of surgery)

- recurring dislocated left shoulder from a snowboarding accident

- broken right shoulder from a motorcycle accident that I can barely sleep on that side, despite it being from 10 years ago

- at 28 years old I have athritis in my left hip from breaking my hip when I was young and losing blood supply to the femoral head so it's slowly grinding down (although I was able to replenish the blood supply later from a subsequent surgery)

 

Luckily I'm still able to make a pretty athletic swing with a surprising (to my pro) degree of flexibility, and a ~102 mph SS. So I'm really not complaining. I just need to be careful with my back now. I'm looking into daily exercises to protect my back